Hutchinson has launched its latest off-road tire dubbed Caracal Race, claiming it’s “the fastest gravel tire on the market” thanks to a lighter, more flexible casing and an updated tread compound, giving the tire “unsurpassed rolling resistance”.
The Caracal Race achieves these accolades from technology borrowed from Hutchinson’s flagship Blackbird road tire, featuring a slick central tread paired with ”pronounced side knobs” for added grip.
“We created the Carasal Race to serve our elite teams and athletes by creating the fastest gravel tire on the market. It outperforms similar tires by up to 35%, and 40% when compared to the Overide, which the Caracal Race has superseded as our top-tier gravel tire,” boasts Hutchison.
At the heart of the Caracal Race is Hutchisnon’s “SwiftEasy” casing and “Mach Tread 3.0” compound, which is constructed from a 127 TPI fabric, with only two layers of overlapping fabric beneath the tread compared to three on the sidewalls, yielding improved flexibility and less rolling resistance.
Additionally, Hutchinson claims its new tread is 10% harder and more resistant to tearing than its previous best compound, resulting in 75% better performance in tear tests without sacrificing grip.
However, there’s a trade-off, as the Caracal Race doesn’t have a dedicated puncture protection layer beneath the tread, reserving the tire for use on hard-packed gravel or for “all-road” use.
As a solution, Hutchinson has also launched a version simply called the Caracal, which relies on the same tread albeit with the French brand’s thicker “Hardskin” casing, resulting in a “more versatile balance of performance and durability that’s more suitable for everyday off-road riding”
The Caracal Race and the standard Caracal are available in 700×40 only, which sell for $65.00 and $63.00, respectively, with claimed weights of 467 grams and 475 grams.
Hutchinson
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